Whispers and Wishes (Untouchable Book 4)

by Heather Long

  “Ugh. Kill me and can the dramatics, guys.” Rachel gagged and stood, gathering up the trash. At least Frankie had eaten most of her food. I caught Archie studying the food too, and then lifted my chin when he glanced at me. We needed to get her favorites tonight. The decline in her appetite had been noticeable over the last couple of days, particularly after her mother’s last drop in visit on the heels of being stuck in a cast.

  I leaned over and caught Frankie’s left hand as she stood, then pulled her to me and dropped a kiss on her lips. Yeah, no PDAs at school, but fuck it at the moment. She sighed and leaned in to me for a few seconds, and I murmured, “It’s going to work, Baby Girl. Trust us?”

  “Yes.” I never realized just how much power that one word could have, particularly when it came to asking her to believe in us.

  No way in hell would I let her down.

  Ever.

  “I’m walking her to class,” I decided, and Archie snorted but he nodded anyway. Rachel just rolled her eyes. “Hey, Rach.”

  “Hmm?”

  “You got a little something there on the corner of your mouth.” Coop cracked up before I’d even finished speaking.

  “Yeah, drool,” Archie added on. “Definitely noticeable.”

  She flipped us all off, but I grabbed Frankie’s backpack with my free hand and tucked her under my other arm.

  “Rach,” Frankie said as we started walking away. “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure,” she called. “’Cause this shit is gonna be lit. Excuse me, I need to go fan the flames.”

  The bell rang, and I cut toward the doors that were always unlocked during the day and let us bypass hitting the office.

  “You good for sixth period?” I asked.

  “Yep,” she said. “How hard should I slap Ian?”

  “Really hard. It’ll be therapeutic for both of you. Just make sure you use your left hand.”

  That got me a pinch, a shove, and a grin.

  Worth it.

  Rachel

  I waited a second as Jake ushered Frankie away. Coop and Archie didn’t waste any time in following, and then it was just me and Bubba. “Not going to class?”

  “I wanted to talk to you,” he said.

  “Well, I guessed that, shit for brains. What did you want to talk to me about?”

  “How are you planning on winding her up specifically?”

  I shrugged. “That’s really for me to know and you to just to take advantage of.”

  Pretty boy scowled, and I smiled. Objectively, the guy was good-looking. Not my type, but he had some hidden emotional depths, when he wasn’t being a blithering idiot who tripped over his own tongue and crapped on the best thing that ever happened to him.

  Not that I was bitter.

  Nope.

  I’d nursed my crush for as far as it went, and I got a new friend out of it, so win win for me.

  “Yeah, but I need to know because I don’t want it to blow back on Frankie.”

  Yeah. “Tell you what, you let me do my part, and you just make sure you do yours. Tripping over your tongue is a specialty, and I really would hate to see it fall into that bitch’s mouth and burn any bridges you might be in the process of rebuilding. Catch my drift?”

  He scowled at me, and I had to admit, that was a good look on him. “You’re protecting Frankie, so I’ll let that slide. Don’t ever say shit like that to me again. Wanting her has never been the problem, and I would rather cut off my tongue than touch Sharon with it again.”

  “Good boy, there might be hope for you yet. Now shoo. I have work to do, and I stir shit better when someone isn’t watching me.” Utterly untrue, but he needed to go away. “Besides, Frankie slapping you is a stellar idea. It might actually help her forgive you.”

  He let out a little sigh and shifted his backpack strap. “Not sure I’ll ever deserve it.”

  Ugh. Okay. “Look,” I said, relenting. “You screwed up. But it’s not irreparable.”

  He frowned. “Are you giving me advice?”

  “Shut up and take it, but do not comment on it, or I’m walking away. Got it?”

  Hands raised, he said, “Got it.”

  “Good. You hurt her. You hurt her a lot, because you didn’t know what you wanted and you projected that on her. Like you thought she didn’t know or wouldn’t. You decided you knew how she felt better than she did. Stupid mistake. Huge. Never ever tell someone how they really feel. It’s patronizing and dickish. That said, you seem to have woken up face down in the cow pasture and tasted the manure. Good job. Now clean that shit off and just go for it. She’s not throwing you out the door, and you’ve been stepping up since that fucktard put hands on her. I can’t say whether you did before or not, but that’s neither here nor there. Stop hesitating. Grab that girl and kiss her like you mean it. Sometimes, actions speak a fuckton louder than words.”

  I took two steps away and then whirled back as the bell rang again. Dude was so getting a tardy. Not my problem. “But to be clear, you hurt her again, and what we do to Sharon is going to look like a picnic next to what I’ll do to you.”

  He opened his mouth, then snapped it shut again.

  Good boy.

  Maybe he could learn.

  “See you in a couple of hours for Operation Bitch Slap.” Such a stupid name and funny at the same time. “Toodles.”

  I was halfway to my car before I glanced over my shoulder. Bubba was gone. I could only hope he took my advice.

  Back in my car, I had my phone out and my feet up as I scrolled through my contacts.

  Who was in Sharon’s sixth period class?

  Archie

  Both classes dragged like hell, probably because I was itching to get back out there. From the moment that video dropped, all I could think about was crushing those bitches like a bug. While we hadn’t really discussed it, I had zero doubt that Patty wasn’t involved in that shit. She’d had a hate-on for Frankie because she was under some delusion that Frankie was the reason Patty and I weren’t getting back together.

  She wasn’t the only girl gunning for her. I used to think this girl-on-girl shit was funny before it involved Frankie. I didn’t mind when they fought over us. Hell, it entertained me. The lengths some girls went to get our attention.

  But this?

  Nothing funny about this at all. The verbal attacks had been one thing. This bordered on criminal. Seriously, painting Frankie as someone who invited being drugged and assaulted? That crossed so many lines, she was in another county.

  As far as I was concerned, crushing her like an insect would be too good for her. I would go along with the plan for now, but I wanted contingencies in place.

  It might take a little finagling, but my grandfather was in town, and if anyone knew how to pull strings and make shit happen? He’d be the guy to ask.

  I might have already sent him a text to do just that, but I had to be careful, too. Frankie didn’t want to hurt Sharon—that compassionate heart of hers was too much. I wanted to hurt the bitch, but Frankie didn’t. So I just needed to make the problem go away.

  Jake hit me with a text during classes, verifying I’d be in place before it went down. Coop was always the first one to the lot, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

  We needed all the camera angles.

  He texted a few more times, going over the plan in the group chat. Bubba and Coop indulged him, and I just paid attention in case something came up that I needed to know.

  My phone buzzed again about five minutes before the end of the day. Jake was on edge, but I’d expected it to be Bubba. Instead it was a number I didn’t recognize.

  Unknown: This is Maddy Curtis. I would like to speak to you privately.

  I snorted. Was this bitch for real?

  Archie: Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just block your ass right now.

  Unknown: Because you seem to care about my daughter.

  Seemed to care. What a cunt.

  Archie: You’ll have to do better than th
at. You wouldn’t know caring if it bit you in the ass.

  Unknown: …

  The three dots hung there for a long while, and the bell rang. Too late, I muted the message and then slid it off the screen as I abandoned the class. I wanted a front row seat to the action.

  I didn’t quite run, but I still managed to hit the shortcut down the band hall and then right outside where I could circle back toward the doors Bubba usually exited. Switching the focus on the camera, I turned it on to record before sliding it into the pocket of my shirt. As long as I angled toward them, it would catch everything.

  Rachel sat cross legged on the grass, not far from the same doors, with her phone in her hand while she looked for all the world like she was texting.

  If I didn’t know what she was up to, I would have bought it.

  Coop strolled through the door first. He lifted his chin toward me as he headed in my direction, and I nodded. Why would we ignore each other? It wasn’t like we didn’t usually hang out or anything.

  Not ten seconds later, Sharon exited with Bubba, and he had his head angled toward her like he was listening. There was no physical contact. Just Sharon talking a mile a minute while Bubba pretended to be interested.

  “Showtime,” I murmured as Jake pushed the door open to let Frankie out. The sun hit her blonde hair and gave it a glow. She already had her sunglasses out and tucked them on. Half-turned toward Jake, she made a show of noticing Bubba.

  I held my breath as she locked on to where he and Sharon stood. Sharon noticed her first—well, seemingly. I highly doubted it, but Bubba’s body language was hard to read, considering how stiffly he stood there already.

  Frankie’s lips compressed, and the anger flashing over her face was so close to the day she’d ripped into us about her mother’s affair with Edward that I winced.

  Blowing out a breath, I fought the surge of hot cold and my stomach bottoming out. I never wanted her that upset again.

  Jake caught her arm as if trying to half-heartedly hold her back, but she shrugged him off as she marched toward them. Sharon had a hand on Bubba’s arm and stepped into him.

  Fuck, I wished I could hear what she was saying exactly, but then Frankie was there.

  He jerked around to face Frankie, and the crack of her hand colliding with his cheek echoed across the quad.

  No missing that.

  I swore Sharon grinned before she snarled at Frankie and took a step toward her. Oh fuck no, but I’d only taken one step before Jake was there, inserting himself between them.

  Okay, not the plan. But we rolled with it. Particularly when Jake said something to Sharon, and her face mottled with rage.

  Fucking bitch.

  Okay, walk away, Frankie. Time to walk away.

  She was, but she didn’t look happy about it, even if Jake brought her straight toward us.

  Red hand print blazing on Bubba’s cheek, he tracked Frankie’s progress with a look so close to devastation, I almost thought it was real.

  Ian

  The sting on my face barely registered as I tracked Frankie stalking away from me. The hurt and anger in her expression had seemed damn real. It made me raw and ache inside.

  “Are you all right?” Sharon asked, reaching up to touch my still smarting cheek. It took everything I had not to wrench away. As it was, I still flinched a little, and she slowed her action. “Does it hurt?”

  Had she not been paying attention? “I’ll live,” I gritted out. “You were saying something. You know, before.”

  Because the sooner we got this over and done with, the better. “I’ve just been worried about you,” she said, then stepped in closer to me. I shifted back until we were out of the flow of people exiting the building. More than a few curious gazes flew in our direction.

  Maria, for one, and that junior Coop had been dating, and Cheryl. I didn’t catch where she went, but I trusted Coop and Archie to keep Frankie safe.

  “Look, Sharon,” I tried to pitch my voice a little lower, as if I liked having her this close. “I have to get to practice.”

  “I know, it’s that day. I could wait for you. We could go hang out after.”

  I’d rather dip my dick in bleach. “Probably not a good idea,” I admitted with a sigh. “Things are just…messy at the moment.”

  “How can I help?”

  I shook my head. “You can’t.” If she’d just fuck off and leave Frankie alone, that would be great, but she wasn’t going there on her own, so now we’d make her go there.

  “Bubba,” she continued, clasping my arm, and as much as I wanted to shake her off, I had to play my part. “You know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I’m pretty sure I proved that this summer. Remember?”

  “Yeah.” The thought made me sick. “I was pretty much an ass to a lot of people this summer. Not sure that’s something you should be proud of.”

  “Why not? I made you feel good. I mean, I know you played with some others, but you came back to me.”

  Wow, did she really think so little of herself? I fucked around on her, and that was okay? To be strictly fair, I didn’t specifically cheat when I was with her, but I wasn’t with her that long.

  “You know I’ll do anything for you.”

  “Look, Sharon, being around me isn’t a good idea. Look at the crap Frankie’s taking. People won’t leave her alone, and we’re not even dating anymore.”

  Her eyes glittered with unsuppressed joy. I clenched my fist on the strap of my backpack to keep from responding when she dug her nails into my arm.

  “The last thing I’d want is for someone to do to you what they’ve been doing to her.”

  “Oh, baby, you don’t have to worry about that.” She laughed. “Frankie needed to be taken down a few pegs. Stuck up little bitch thinks she can walk off with everyone’s guys, and we wouldn’t do anything about it?” A very unfriendly sound escaped her in a snort. “Let’s just say I’m providing her with a crash course in real life. All that repressed bad girl coming out in her is turning her into a slut. You know the whole team is talking about it, and then her setting up Mitch that way…”

  Was she really that delusional?

  “…I mean, sure, he probably just wanted to tap that because he wanted to tap everyone you guys did. But it doesn’t matter, right? I’m on your side, and you don’t have to worry about me.”

  “No?” I raised my brows. “You already fuck Mitch, Sharon?”

  “Maybe.” She gave a little shrug. “I figure a little tit for a little tat is fair. You strayed. I tested out your teammates. I figured I’d get your other boys, but I wouldn’t do that to the girls. I have some sense of loyalty.”

  I just shook my head. “That’s what you call loyalty?”

  “What?” Sharon frowned.

  “Hey,” Jake said, cutting in. “We gotta go, Bubba.”

  “Fuck off, Jake. We’re having a moment,” Sharon informed him.

  “Wasn’t talking to you, skank. I’d tell you to suck my dick, but I wouldn’t want it to fall off.”

  “I wouldn’t touch your dick anyway…you know I’m all about Bubba.”

  Yeah. I couldn’t do this anymore. I wanted her hands off me. But the look of pure malice on Jake’s face kept me still.

  “Really? I’m pretty sure that was you begging me the last night before school started. You were horny and Bubba wouldn’t fuck you, but I looked free, so you all but tried to crawl onto my cock, and I had to dump your ass in the pool to get you off of me.”

  Sharon’s eyes blazed, and her face went red. “That’s not true.”

  “Well, we can always check the video,” Jake taunted her. “You like video. You and the girls were all over us, and you didn’t seem to care who you got as long as you got one of us, so spin your bullshit for Bubba, and if he wants to buy in, I’ll be sure to get him an appointment for that STD panel.”

  “Fuck you,” she snarled at him, then looked at me. “Are you going to let him talk to me like that?”

  I
shrugged. “Is he lying?”

  She froze. “What?”

  “Is. He. Lying?” I enunciated every word clearly.

  “Well, we might have had a moment, but we were drunk.”

  Translation. Jake wasn’t lying.

  I didn’t care, other than that I hadn’t seen through this crap in the first place. Rachel was right. I fucked up royally.

  “And all your little attacks on Frankie? Those lies?”

  “No—they’re just—well—they’re true. From a certain point of view.”

  Jake snorted. “Cunt.”

  “Fuck off,” she growled at him, and he smiled. It was not a friendly smile.

  “Make me.”

  She let out a little scream. “Bubba?”

  We had an audience now, not just the folks who’d planned on watching it—like Archie, Coop, Rachel, and fuck me, Frankie was right there. But there were other kids, too. Sharon was really making a spectacle of herself.

  “What? You’re a big girl. You just told me you can handle it.”

  She flushed a deep crimson. “Of course, I can. Should I meet you after practice, since you have to go?”

  “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why should you meet me after practice?”

  “So we can talk about getting back together again. I’ll make it real nice for you.”

  “No.”

  “What?”

  “I said no,” I repeated for her. “You must have a hearing issue. People tell you no, and you don’t hear it. People tell you they aren’t interested and it doesn’t fit your narrative, so you twist it. You make up lies and then call it creatively telling the truth from a certain point of view. You’re the worst kind of person. The worst kind of girl. Backstabbing. Manipulative. Shallow. Even worse than all of that—you’re pathetic.”

  Yeah. Not the plan. Didn’t care anymore.

  Her eyes widened.

  “I dumped you months ago. Get over it.” With that, I turned and stalked away from her with Jake right next to me. He actually laughed when we were halfway to the stadium.